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I have always wanted to make underhood light for a long time. I don't like off the shelf unit because none is a 4,000K color temp.
Also 2 hours at max power is too lame, since most are battery powered. What a waste of money, when I always do my work at home and electricity is always close by.
I choose to use 12V LED module for safety.
I been using light stand, like below, 2 of these. 50 watts x 2 each. But they create shadows when I work and they are big and blocking my way at times.
So this weekend I made myself an under-hood light. Totally PVC pipe based. Super light weight.
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This is a JIS rated pipe and is thicker than normal version by about 1 millimeter, so it is stiff.
The PUSH and PULL pipe create "tension", good for the assy and as a means to lock the light pipe in place.
The PUSH pipe, made 2cm longer than needed, thus it pushes the main long pipe.
The PULL pipes, 2 pcs. Its length is just a tiny tiny bit shorter than needed, hence it PULL the main long pipe.
All those white locking pin thingy is teflon tubes.
Good thing my hood has 2 spare holes on each side near the pneumatic hood lifter, those are what I use as anchor point for the main long pipe using cable tie.
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Brightness level, is using the Flood Light on stand. ========= ALL 6 PHOTOS BELOW ARE WITH CAMERA STROBE/FLASH TURNED OFF ============
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If you guys know a bit about photography, you will understand why I am using locked ISO 400, no flash/strobe and the shutter speed and F stop as reference to "gauge" how bright the light is.
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The DIY under-hood light
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========= ALL 6 PHOTOS ABOVE ARE WITH CAMERA STROBE/FLASH TURNED OFF ============
For context, 500 lux is already very good, but surely 750 to 1,000 ish is better.
My PC table , in my man cave, is the brightest illumination zone in the house
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General Lux requirement
Where in sports and for broadcast, Olympic event for swimming has minimum 1,500 lux as requirement.
World swimming federation FINA, if not during competition, requires 600 lux minimum.
.Power supply / driver is a constant voltage unit. It boasted 20 amps at 12 volts.
The voltage is stable at output pins, 11.74V always.
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Power consumption
The connectors are the 4mm banana plug stack-able type for the power supply/driver and for the long pipe.
This way I can always add more load/light withe ease.
White tape is 220V AC zone, so me extra careful by extra layering.... so nothing can touch its pins.
Both input 220V AC and output 12v DC cable/wires are locked using cable tie, so that no terminals will ever get pulled.
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Versatility
It can be under carriage light too, simply place ( friction fit ) 2 of PCV Tee as tripod leg
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Extra fun, Light Stick for narrow spaces. 270 degrees beam spread, 3 lines of LED modules. LED modules per 90 degree.
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For illumination like below :
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The LED Module. Supposedly 0.5 watts each eye, so 3 of them 1.5 watts. But it is driven a bit lower than that, good for longevity.
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END of Report
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Last edited by S-Prihadi; Dec 8, 2024 at 11:38 AM.
Reason: typo
Today real test/use.
I did a 9 months oil change, only 3,444 KM but better than the last 2 years at no more than 1,000KM per oil change.
So the DIY Light show its worth.
1/30sec shutter speed at F2.8 ISO360 is good enough for brightness power
Short one for cleaning work on my disc rotor holes.
The Light Saber for oil filter replacement assist, yes it is still daylight, but the crevices are dark.
Car is Toyota Land Cruiser 300, diesel 3.3 Liter V6. sequential turbo.
The hood does not open high like our W212.
I use my main long light only, simply using string tied to the pneumatic rams of the hood.
This car is wider than W212 , based on the hood width only.
I was installing Mann Hummel Provent 200 catch can for my friend.
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Useful this DIY light. I am very happy I made this.
Many others out there and most are rechargeable so I have little power sources to plug them into that can use wall outlet or run off my rechargeable drill battery.
I like the ones with batteries from my rechargeable tool system.
Very handy as always have battery in charger and using their cordless ratchet or impact gun.
Many others out there and most are rechargeable so I have little power sources to plug them into that can use wall outlet or run off my rechargeable drill battery.
I like the ones with batteries from my rechargeable tool system.
Very handy as always have battery in charger and using their cordless ratchet or impact gun.
My DIY light, materials only is at the most, US$50 - US$60.
No one sell 4,000K color temperature underhood lights, that is one reason I do not ever will buy off the shelf unit.
Also battery powered for a 28 watts my DIY light is, an honest 2 Amps hour 12V battery won't even last 50 minutes and I work 6-8 hours usually.
Lumens wise it is easy to calculate, they need to be at least honest 25 watts power consumption to equal my DIY unit.
Also my long pipe using double rows LED modules, has beam spread much wider than what you can buy off the shelf.
The shorter pipe single row LED add more coverage.
The only underhood light available in my country is the Milwaukee M12 UHL-0 and is US$243 without battery. The battery should be M12 12V 4.0 Ah which is US$69.75 each.
This unit : https://www.tokopedia.com/belanjatek...26src%3Dsearch
